… meet in top-of-the-table clash at Guyana National Stadium, Providence

By Brij Parasnath

INDIA’S vice-captain Smriti Mandhana expressed confidence that her team will prevail against the mighty Australians, as they aim to maintain their dominance when the two unbeaten teams in ICC Women World T20 Group B clash at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence today from 11:00 hrs.

Those are positive wishes after India clinched the second semi-final qualifying spot from Group B when they registered a comfortable 52-run victory over Ireland in their third Group B match to make it three wins in a row on Thursday.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian outfit will be brimming with confidence, just like their Australian counterparts, who also won their three previous encounters in commanding fashion and will also be highly optimistic for a positive outcome too.

Australia, the three-time champions (2010, 2012 and 2014) should be at full strength while India will probably miss the services of veteran opener Mithali Raj, who limped off on Thursday with a suspected thigh strain to her right leg.
Both India and Australia registered almost similar triumphant march to their semi-finals spots. India set a new World T20 record team score of 194 for 5 when they defeated the powerful New Zealand team by 34 runs and followed up with an impressive 7-wicket win over Pakistan and a 34-run victory over Ireland.

Australia’s triple victories were by 52 runs over Pakistan, nine-wicket win over Ireland and a 33-run victory over Trans-Tasman rival New Zealand in their clash on Thursday.
At the press conference following their semi-final qualification, Smriti Mandhana was elated and described their strong showing as a sign of their recovery from the debacle where they were surprisingly beaten in the recently-held Asian Cup final.

She smilingly said: “Well, it means a lot (to make the semis) because after the Asia Cup final, a lot of things happened back home. Everyone had actually thought that we wouldn’t even make it to the semi-finals, because we did not even win the Asia Cup.
“But I guess everyone was motivated enough after the Asia Cup. And this is the time everyone will be watching (ICC Women’s World T20 semi-finals), and we have to prove our point. In 2017, we qualified for the final, but that can’t be just a one-off.”

Mandhana pointed out that India’s score against Ireland was below par; having set themselves a target of 165 to 170 runs. She felt that India should have posted a much bigger total than 146 for 6 in their allotted 20 overs.
They batted first on a damp pitch that had moisture from the mid-morning rainfall that forced a delayed start to the match that was of great interest to the Indians. Australia had already secured the first semi-final spot.

Should Raj be unable to play, India will depend heavily on their dynamic skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who registered a masterful hundred against New Zealand in the opening fixture; as well as attractive stroke-players Mandhana, Jemimah Rodriques, Veda Krishmuthry, Deepti Sharma and wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia to establish a challenging total, should they bat first; or be able to chase down whatever the Aussies set them for victory.

It is expected to be one of the hotly contested affairs of this inaugural standalone Women World T20.
The Aussies, on the other hand, have also been in terrific form with their opener Alyssa Healy being the main spark at the top of their talent-laden batting line-up. Ellyse Perry also is one of the World’s leading all-rounders. She is listed to bat very low down the order.
Healy produced three sparkling player-of-the-match performances that have stirred much talk about her aggressive style which provides the impetus to dominate the early power-play period.

Her attacking policy of ‘see ball, hit ball’ has worked wonders for her and the Australian team, that is being led by the astute Meg Lanning, who has adopted the aggressive style and has positioned herself as the world’s leading female batter in both ODIs and T20Is formats.

Apart from Lanning and Healy, the Aussies team comprises Beth Mooney, Rachel Haynes, Ash Gardner, Elyse Villani and Perry, who are all very good exponents of willow and will be the ones relied upon to maintain their unbeaten streak, as they head to Antigua for the crucial semi-finals.